Your Spring Career Final Exam

Given that we are at the end of the semester and finals time is upon us. We thought that we would give you a career-related final exam.

Here we go!

CAREER FINAL EXAM

1. Have you updated your resume with your Spring internship on it?

2. Have you asked for a reference letter from your current supervisor?

3. Does your LinkedIn account have at least 50 contacts that you personally know?

4. Can you are articulate what your career plans are if someone asks?

5. Do you have a sense of what is missing on your resume and how to fill it with experiences from your next internship or job?

6. Are you enjoying and excelling at your internships and courses? Do you feel like your career choice is a fit for you?

7. Are you participating in extracurricular activities that are rounding out your academic and internship experiences?

8. Do you feel like you have a mentor?

9. Will you update your STARRSearch account after you receive your grades for the semester?

10. If you have gotten a job or internship, have you stopped by the SCDC to tell us so that we can celebrate your accomplishment?

 

ANSWERS:

1. Yes. Toward the end of your internship, make sure that you have updated it with your current internship on it. It’s also a great time to ask your supervisor for feedback on your resume if you have a good relationship with him or her.

2. Yes. Even if you don’t need the reference right now, it’s good to have it on hand. It is especially useful when you may need him or her to provide a reference a few months or years from now. You can simply send them a copy of the reference letter to refresh his/her memory.

3. Yes. LinkedIn is a key way to manage your contacts. You need to have a substantial amount of meaningful contacts to really make it work for you so add fellow interns, supervisors, classmates, individuals that you meet at networking events.

4. Yes. You should be able to tell someone exactly what your career plans are if they ask because this is the only way a person can consider ways to help you. If you don’t know, make an appointment with a career counselor ASAP.

5. Yes. You should have a clear idea of the skills and experiences that are needed to get you to where you want to be in the future and should know what’s missing and what your plan is to fill it. If this sounds like a foreign concept to you, make an appointment to see a career counselor to discuss this issue.

6. Yes. If this is not the case, don’t just continue thinking it will get better. Discuss this with someone — a mentor, supervisor, career counselor. You don’t want to feel this way for the next 10, 20 years.

7. Yes. Having a full college experience is necessary to succeed and be employable after graduation. This means good grades, solid and relevant internships and leadership experiences. Being a significant part of your college community speaks to  the way you will be at your company as a employee.

8. Yes. A mentor is a critical to help smooth out the pathway for your success. There are many programs at Baruch that make this easier (check our website for some of those programs), but you can also build a relationship with a supervisor that can eventually become a mentor/mentee experience.

9. Yes. Updating your STARRSearch is important to getting access to relevant opportunities. If you don’t do this, you’ll never know what you are missing.

10. Yes. We love to celebrate your achievements!

SCORING:

5 or Less – You have gotten started, but lets get you a little further along. See a career counselor immediately and get a partner to help you get on track.

6 to 7 – You are on the right career track and on your way to success. Work on the missing items and it’ll be smooth sailing.

8 to 10 – Excellent job! You are really making your career a priority.